BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A West Virginia State Police investigation led to the arrest of a Beckley man after a 3-year-old child was reportedly found wandering alone in the middle of a roadway in Beckley.
According to investigators, Raleigh County 911 received a call around 5:30 p.m. on May 11 reporting a young child walking unaccompanied along Tolbert Farm Road.
Troopers responded to the area and spoke with Roger Oneal, who told officers he found the child, identified in the complaint as C.C., riding a push bike in the middle of the roadway while vehicles were actively traveling through the area.
Oneal told troopers the child had been wandering near the road for approximately 15 minutes before he was able to coax the child onto his lawn and call 911. About 15 minutes later, the child’s stepfather, identified as Carl Harvey, allegedly arrived and walked the child back toward their residence on Haymarket Drive.
Investigators later located Harvey and the child along Haymarket Drive. Harvey reportedly told troopers the child had been riding a bike near the home while he was outside in the yard. He also stated neighbors later informed him the child had traveled farther down the roadway.
According to the criminal complaint, Harvey admitted to troopers he had used narcotics “a few days ago.” The child’s mother was reportedly not home at the time of the incident.
Troopers also obtained a written statement from a witness who said the child wandering from the residence was “not the first time” such an incident had occurred. The witness alleged the child had previously been seen outside unaccompanied on multiple occasions.
Later that evening, the child’s grandmother arrived and agreed to take temporary custody of the child.
Harvey was arrested around 7 p.m. and transported to the West Virginia State Police Beckley Detachment.
The incident remains under investigation.
